Northern Ireland Leads Property Price Growth in the U.K.

In comparison, prices in Scotland remain flat

Property prices in Northern Ireland grew at a faster rate than any other area in the U.K. in the first three months of 2018, according to the latest House Price Index from U.K.-based building society Nationwide.

Prices in Northern Ireland are up 7.9% compared to the same time last year, the report said, bringing the average price up to £137,965 (US$193,526).

Though the figure is well below the U.K.’s average house price of £211,792 (US$297,084) and 38% below the region’s pre-crisis levels in 2007, overall U.K. prices in comparison are 16% above, the report said. The report, released this week, did not break out luxury figures.

Wales logged strong price growth too, with prices rising 6.1% to £151,971 (US$213,172), from the same quarter last year, making it the second-best performing country in the U.K.

But prices remained mostly unchanged in Scotland, inching up just 0.2% to an average of £144,250 (US$202,342).

Property prices in England, the priciest in the U.K., fared a little better, rising 1.9% to an average of £257,417 (US$361,083).

Within England, the North-South divide, prevalent for four consecutive quarters, is ongoing, though showing signs of marginal narrowing, according to the report.

“Over the past two years the Southern English regions have seen a steady deceleration in price growth, which is now running at its slowest pace since 2012,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, in the report. “By contrast, the Northern English regions have recorded a gradual acceleration and recorded their strongest growth rate since 2014 in the first three months of this year.”

The average property in the North of England now costs £163,138 (US$228,836), less than half of the £331,047 (US$464,366) a buyer would expect to pay in the southern part of the country.

London, which is in the South, was the worst performing region in the U.K., recording price declines of 1.0%, though property in the capital is still the most expensive, at an average of £473,776 (US$664,575).